Move to increase corpus fund to uplift Primary Health Centres

[sajiv]

Move to increase corpus fund to uplift Primary Health Centres

Tuticorin: Health sector is making revolutionary changes under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) meant for the welfare of rural households, of those below poverty line, underprivileged, widows and the disabled, said Collector and Chairman of District Health Society, G. Prakash.

He presided over the sensitization workshop on National Rural Health Mission for industrialists conducted by the District Health Society here on Wednesday.

The workshop was organized with an objective of creating awareness on various health indicators in the district and for the creation of corpus fund to uplift the Primary Health Centres.

The programme, first of its kind was launched initially in Tuticorin to increase the corpus fund from the business entrepreneurs and if the programme gained momentum, other industrial towns in the state would follow suit. The corpus fund would be deposited in the nationalised bank and the interest accrued would be forwarded to the patient welfare society and used for medical purposes, Mr. Prakash said.
High standards

The PHCs were being maintained with high standards of hygiene conditions. "On an average day, doctors at the PHCs attend to 127 patients. The number of in – patients at PHCs had gone up to 52 from 19. The total number of deliveries had risen from 1, 284 to 6, 398 recording a fivefold increase and puerperal sterilization upto 861 from 8 patients. The birth rate and death rate had come down from 17.4 per cent to 16.1 per cent and 6.5 per cent to 5.8 per cent, respectively. The infant mortality rate had decreased from 28.5 per cent to 17.5 per cent," S. Uma, Deputy Director of Health Services, said. Referring to the maternal mortality rate, she said it had downed from 1.2 per cent to 0.9 per cent while the still birth rate was 6.9 per cent from 16 per cent.

All hospitals in the district would be fully equipped to meet the requirements of the needy in the coming days and the doctors would extend speedy service to provide effective health care to rural population. A fund flow was expected from the industrialists, philanthropists and other business entrepreneurs with a set target of Rs. 20 crore for 2009 – 10 for contribution towards corpus fund meant for the District Health Society to extend medical facilities for the poor and Mr. Prakash sought cooperation from the participants to make iteffective. Over the past three years, Rs. 18 crore was given away to beneficiaries under Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy Maternity scheme.

V. Veluchamy, Joint Director, Health Services, offered felicitations. Vishwanathan, Resident Medical Officer, Government Medical College Hospital, P. Subbiah, Deputy Director, Medical (TB) and V. A. Ralph Selvin, Deputy Director, Health Services, Kovilpatti were present.